Conditioning device for bundles of coiled material



N v- 1956 R. CLARK ET AL CONDITIONING DEVICE FOR BUNDLES OF COILED MATERIAL Filed Feb. 25, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l B05527 6249K m/ W/LU/W/i J0/1/v5, A) m [ed/4 /9 2% "Nov- 1956 R. CLARK ETAL CONDITIONING DEVICE FOR BUNDLES OF COILED MATERIAL.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1955 :1 w M0 Am a Maw 0# [mm m "0 M #EWAN United States Patent CONDITIONING DEVICE FOR BUNDLES OF COILED MATERIAL Robert Clark, Parma, and William H. Johns, Gates Mills, Ohio, assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application February 25, 1955, Serial No. 490,540

Claims. (Cl. 198-29) The present invention relates generally to material handling apparatus and more particularly to a coil conditioning device especially suitable for use in conjunction with a coil conveyor.

Prior to our invention, much difficulty was encountered in the handling of unbound or loose annular bundles of coiled material such as wire due to the bundles dumping or spilling out of shape as they were moved along a conveyor. Such dumping resulted in irregularly shaped coils which were difficult to package and strap for shipment. It was usually necessary for a workman to reshape each dumped coil before any strapping operation could take place. The detrimental effects of coil spilling became particularly acute with the introduction of highspeed automatic strapping machines. The latter are ordinarily provided with a conveyor table from which unbound bundles of wire are fed into an automatic strapping machine by means of dogs attached to a continuous conveyor chain which functioned in conjunction with the strapping mechanism. The advantages of the automatic strapping operation were reduced considerably due to the frequent interruptions occasioned by the necessity of reshaping spilled coils.

It is accordingly an object of our invention to provide a device adapted to be installed on a conveyor to condition or straighten an annular bundle of coiled material as it travels along the conveyor.

It is another object of our invention to provide a coil conditioning device which may be mounted on a coil conveyor in such a manner so that it may easily be made inoperative and removed from the path of coils on the conveyor when coils not requiring straightening are being processed.

The nature of the invention and its distinguishing features and advantages will be fully apparent from the following detailed disclosure and the appended claims when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the irregular line IIIIII of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the brackets in inoperative position;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line VV of Figure l; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged detailed view partly in section of the pivoted end of the spring loaded rod element of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings reference numeral 2 designates generally a drag conveyor having a frame 4 supporting a platform 6 along which coils C of wire or the like are conveyed by means of a continuous chain 8 and chain dogs 10 from the entry end 12 of the conveyor to its exit end 14 and thence into a strapping machine (not shown).

A conditioning plate 16 is mounted on each side of the frame 4 by means of hinges 18 adjacent the entry end of the conveyor. Brackets, designated generally by the 2,771,176 Patented Nov. 20, 1956 reference numeral 20, are mounted on each side of the conveyor frame intermediate its ends for mounting resilient supporting means 22 which are connected with the plates 16 and function to yieldably urge the free ends of the plates toward each other on the platform 6 of the conveyor.

Each of the brackets 20 include a pair of angle plates 24 which are mounted on the frame by means of hinges 26 at one end. The angle plates 24 project laterally from the frame and are connected at their free ends by means of a cross-member 28. Cross-member '28 extends between and is welded or otherwise secured to the angle plates 24. The cross-member 28 is in the form of an angle plate having a projecting portion 30 which extends between the plates 24 parallel with the frame 4. A center hole 32 is provided in the upwardly projecting portion 30. A supporting leg 34 is mounted on the underside of the cross-member 28 by means of a hinge 36 and extends downwardly from the plate 28 to the mill floor.

The supporting means 22 each include a rod 38 which is detachably and pivotally connected to each of the conditioning plates 16 adjacent its free end by means of a bracket 40 and pin 42. Each rod 38 extends laterally from its associated plate 16 and projects through the hole '32 in the upwardly projecting portion 30 of the cross-member 28. The end portion of each rod 38 remote from its pivoted end is threaded and has adjustably threaded thereon a nut 44 which is adapted to abut the outer side of the upwardly projecting portion 30 and thereby limit the stroke or longitudinal movement of the rod 38. The end portion of each rod 38 adjacent its pivoted end has a greater diameter than the remainder of the rod forming a shoulder 46, as best shown in Figure 6. A washer 48, which is provided with a reduced diameter flange 50, is mounted on the rod abutting the shoulders 46 with the flange 50 extending in the direction away from the shoulder. A helical spring 52 is circumferentially mounted on the rod 38 with one end bearing against the washer 48 and receiving the flange 50. A cylinder 54 having an externally threaded end 56 is mounted around each of the springs 52 and rods 38 between the frame 4 and the upwardly projecting portion 30 of the crossmember 28. The cylinder 54 is substantially shorter in length than the rod 38 and is positioned with its threaded end extending toward the cross-member 28. A cap 58 having a hole 62 in its bottom is threaded on the end portion 56 of each of the cylinders 54 with the hole 62 accommodating the rod 38 and the bottom of the cap bearing against the end of the spring 52. The cap is provided with radially directed spike handles 60 whereby it may be rotated and adjustably threaded along the end 56 of the cylinder to thereby regulate the tension of a spring 52.

A bar 64 is welded to and extends between the angle plates 24 intermediate their ends under each of the cylinders 54. The bars 64 are welded to the undersides of and support the cylinders 54. v

The inner face of each of the conditioning plates 16 is generally concave along its length, as best shown in Figures 1 and 3. The end portion of each of the plates 16 is provided with a plane surface by means of a filler plate 66 which is welded onto a rod 68 which extends transversely across the inner face of each plate 16 at its free end. Thus, as a coil C is moving along the conveyor from its entry end it passes between the conditioning plates 16 and is shaped to fit the contours of the concave inner face of the plate as it progresses along the conveyor. The resilient means '22 constantly urge the plates 2 not usually necessary to straighten them before bundling. In this event it is usual to remove the plates 16 from the path of the coils so they may travel along the conveyor unimpeded. In the present invention this is accomplished by removing the pins 42 from the brackets 40 so that the rods 38 may be disengaged from the plates 16. Each of the supporting legs 34 is then pivoted toward the frame 4 and the plates 24 are pushed downwardly to move the resilient means 22 from the vicinity of the plates 16 and the platform 6, as shown in Figure 4. The plates 16 are then moved to the side of the conveyor to thus permit free passage of coils.

While one embodiment of our invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a drag conveyor including a frame, a supporting surface on said frame having an entry end and an exit end, and means for moving a bundle of coiled material along said supporting surface from the entry end to the exit end thereof, the improvement therewith of a pair of spaced upright conditioning plates each pivoted at one end to said frame adjacent said entry end and extending therefrom toward said exit end along said supporting surface, the inner face of each of said conditioning plates having a concave surface along its length extending to a point short of the free end thereof and a plane surface extending from said point to said free end, resilient means detachably and pivotally connected with each plate at a point adjacent the end thereof remote from said pivoted end for yieldably urging said plates toward each other, and a bracket pivotally mounted on each side of said frame rigidly supporting one of said resilient means, each of said brackets being adapted to be pivoted away from said frame when the resilient means associated therewith is detached from the plate to remove said resilient means from the vicinity of said supporting platform.

2. In a drag conveyor including a frame, a supporting surface on said frame having an entry end and an exit end, and means for moving a bundle of coiled material along said supporting surface from the entry end to the exit end thereof, the improvement therewith. of a pair of spaced upright conditioning plates each pivoted at one end to said frame adjacent said entry end and extending therefrom toward said exit end along said supporting surface, the inner face of each of said conditioning plates having a concave surface along its length extending to a point short of the free end thereof and a plane surface extending from said point to said free end, a bracket pivotally mounted on each side of said frame and projecting laterally therefrom, each of said brackets including a vertically projecting portion having a hole therethrough and extending substantially parallel with and spaced from said frame, a rod detachably and pivotally attached by one end to each of said conditioning plates at a point adjacent the end thereof remote from the end pivoted to the frame, each of said rods extending from its associated plate substantially normal to said frame and projecting through the hole in one of said brackets, each of said rods having an increased diameter portion forming a shoulder adjacent its pivotally attached end, a helical spring circumferentially mounted on each of said rods with one end bearing against said shoulder and its other end bearing against said vertical portion of said bracket whereby said plates are yieldably urged toward each other, each of said rods being threaded along a portion of its length adjacent the end thereof remote from its pivoted end, and a nut adjustably threaded on the threaded portion of each of said rods projecting from the hole in said bracket for limiting the movement of said rod, each of said brackets being adapted to be pivoted away from said frame when the rod associated therewith is detached from the plate to remove said rod from the vicinity of said supporting platform.

3. In a drag conveyor the improvement therewith as defined by claim 2, characterized by each of said brackets comprising a pair of spaced arms pivotally mounted on said frame by one end and extending laterally therefrom, a cross plate attached to and extending between the free ends of said arms substantially parallel with said frame, said cross plate having a vertically projecting portion extending along its length intermediate said arms, said vertical portion having a hole therethrough intermediate its length, a supporting leg pivoted to the underside of said cross plate and extending downwardly therefrom.

4-. In a drag conveyor including a frame, a supporting surface on said frame having an entry end and an exit end, and means for moving a bundle of coiled material along said supporting surface from the entry end to the exit end thereof, the improvement therewith of apair of upright conditioning plates each pivoted at one end to said frame adjacent said entry end and extending therefrom toward said exit end along said supporting surface,

the inner face of each of said conditioning plates having a concave surface along its length extending to a point short of the free end thereofand a plane surface extending from said point to said free end, a bracket pivotally mounted on each side of said frame and projecting laterally therefrom, each of said brackets including a vertically projecting portion having a hole therethrough and extending substantially parallel with said frame, a rod detachably and pivotally attached by one end to each of said plates at a point adjacent the end thereof remote from the end pivoted to the frame, each of said rods extending from its associated plate substantially normal to said frame and projecting through the hole in one of said brackets, each of said rods having an increased diameter portion forming a shoulder adjacent its pivotally attached end, a helical spring circumferentially mounted on said rod with one end bearing against said shoulder, an open end cylinder mounted around said rod and said spring, said cylinder being substantially shorter in length than said rod and extending along the portion of said rod and spring disposed between the vertical portion of said bracket and said conveyor, a cap having a center hole therethrough adjustably threaded on the end of said cylinder remote from said conveyor, the hole in said cap being greater than the diameter of said rod but smaller than the diameter of said spring, the end of said spring remote from said one end bearing against said cap whereby threading of said cap along said cylinder governs the tension in said spring.

5. In a drag conveyor the improvement therewith as defined by claim 4 characterized by each of said brackets comprising a pair of spaced arms pivotally mounted on said frame by one end and extending laterally therefrom, a cross plate attached to and extending between the free ends of said arms substantially parallel with said frame, said cross plate having a vertically projecting portion extending along its length intermediate said arms, said vertical portion having a hole therethrough intermediate its length, and a supporting leg pivoted to the underside of said cross plate and extending downwardly therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

